Friday, September 11, 2015

The Pope’s Other Jobs: Judge and Lawgiver

[There’s no topping Mike Widener, Rare Book Librarian &
Lecturer in Legal Research at the Yale Law School, for timeliness.Here, via H-Law, is an announcement of his and Anders Winroth's
new exhibit at the Yale Law Library.]

The Pope is universally known as the spiritual leader of the
Roman Catholic Church. But it is often forgotten that for much of the papacy's
history the Pope was the most important judicial and legislative authority in
western Europe.

A new exhibition at the Yale Law Library, "The Pope's
Other Jobs: Judge and Lawgiver," illustrates the Pope’s legal responsibilities
throughout history using rare books and a medieval manuscript from the Law
Library's outstanding collection. It is curated by Anders Winroth, Forst Family
Professor of History, Yale University, and Michael Widener, the Law Library's
Rare Book Librarian. Winroth is one of the world's leading authorities on
medieval canon law.

"In the Middle Ages, canon law (the law of the church)
took center stage as a most sophisticated legal system, not only inspiring much
secular law but also becoming recognized as the sole authority in several legal
fields, such as the law of marriage, the law of just war, and the legal
implications of oaths," said Winroth. The books and manuscripts in the
exhibition show how the papacy has shaped areas as diverse as human rights,
international boundaries, due process, and marriage law. Many of the legal
rights that Americans take for granted, such as the presumption of innocence
and the right against self-incrimination, are rooted in the decrees and
judicial decisions of medieval popes.

The exhibition is on display September 8-December 15, 2015,
in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, located on Level L2 of the Lillian Goldman
Law Library, Yale Law School (127 Wall Street, New Haven, CT).It will also appear online in the Yale Law Library Rare Books Blog.